Allahabad High Court orders fresh list of 69,000 assistant teachers

Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to release a fresh list of selected candidates for the 69,000 assistant teachers recruitment conducted in 2019.

The court's decision has set aside the selection lists issued on June 1, 2020, and January 5, 2022, and directed the state to prepare a new list within three months in accordance with the rules.

This ruling poses a significant setback for the state government and raises concerns about the job security of teachers already employed based on the previous lists.

A bench comprising Justice A.R. Masoodi and Justice Brijraj Singh delivered the judgment while hearing 90 special appeals filed by Ashok Yadav and other candidates. These appeals challenged the decision of a single-judge bench dated March 13, 2023, regarding the improper implementation of reservation quotas. The bench had reserved its decision after concluding hearings in March, with the final verdict being pronounced last Tuesday and uploaded to the High Court's website on Friday.

Court Orders Adherence to Reservation Policy in New Selection List

The court directed that the new selection list should follow the reservation policy under the 1981 Rules and the 1994 Reservation Act. If a candidate from a reserved category scores equal to or higher than the cutoff for the general category, they should be placed in the general category. The court also instructed that if any currently employed candidate is affected by the revised list, the state government or the competent authority should ensure that they are compensated until the end of the academic session to minimize disruption for students.

The court modified the single-judge bench's order and instructions in line with these directives. The case had brought to light issues concerning reservation discrepancies in the recruitment of 69,000 primary assistant teachers.

The court also disposed of all appeals against the cancellation of the selection list of 6,800 candidates, as ordered on March 13, 2023, due to discrepancies in reservation during the recruitment process for 69,000 teachers in council schools. The government had been instructed to review the entire list following these findings. Some candidates had filed special appeals before the two-judge bench of the High Court, challenging the cancellation.

The single-judge bench had previously directed the state to revise the selection list within three months from June 1, 2020. The court had also quashed the selection list of 6,800 additional candidates issued on January 5, 2022, arguing that it had been released without proper advertisement. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the reservation rules had not been correctly followed during the 69,000 assistant teacher recruitment process. As a result, 18,988 candidates from the reserved category who scored above 65 percent were not included in the general category list but were instead appointed under the reserved category, which violated reservation rules.

This led to the exclusion of other reserved category candidates, prompting several to file petitions in the High Court. Some petitions challenged the selection list on the grounds that reserved category candidates who had met the general category cutoff were still placed in the reserved category.

Conversely, other petitions, filed by general category candidates, argued that it was unlawful to place reserved category candidates in the general category after they had already availed of reservation benefits in the TET and assistant teacher recruitment exams. Two of these petitions specifically challenged the January 5, 2022, selection list of 6,800 reserved category candidates.

Maurya, Allies hail court order

Deputy CM Keshav Maurya has once again criticized his own government over the recruitment of 69,000 teachers in Uttar Pradesh. He stated that the High Court's decision on the matter is a welcome step towards social justice.

"This is a victory for the eligible candidates from the backward and Dalit communities who fought a long battle for their rights," he said. Earlier, following the High Court's verdict, Akhilesh Yadav had also criticized the government, stating that the education system in the state had been disrupted during the BJP's rule.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Anupriya Patel and BJP ally commented, "What the court has said is something I have always maintained. I now hope that justice will be done to the deprived communities."